Wall of multicolored spray painted hearts.

How Self-Compassion Can Help with the Challenges of Chronic Illness

I wish I’d known about the practice of self-compassion when my chronic illness began. I was suffering from so much loss.  It would have also been tremendously helpful while I was midst a relapse but in denial, caring for an infant and a two year old, living with a severely depressed husband, and trying but …

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Returning to the Workplace While Chronically Ill During COVID-19

Are you getting ready to go back to work during the pandemic while living with a chronic illness or pre-existing condition?  As states begin to reopen, having some anxiety about returning to work is normal, especially if you have a chronic illness or pre-existing condition. While some people’s chronic illness or pre-existing conditions make them …

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Yes, You Can and Should Still Have Goals When You’re Chronically Ill

Yes, you can and should still have goals when you’re chronically ill. Why might you ask? You may be thinking, “I can’t do what I used to be able to do.”   While that may be true, I think it’s important to set reasonable and realistic goals for ourselves that are outside of getting a diagnosis …

a board with lettering that says, "One day at a time." Surrounded by decorative items such as tea cup with tea and a notebook

A Decade of Chronic Illness: Life Lessons Learned

In December of 2019, I attended an event where they spoke about 2020 goals. I was all for learning different strategies to help me come up with some fantastic goals. But then the speaker said, “Before you tackle your goals, take time to reflect on every year from this past decade.”  I thought back to …

lady in bed covering herself except for the winter hat on her head.

How Self-Compassion Can Help Manage Life with Chronic Illness During the Holidays

While the holiday season can bring on excitement, joy, comfort, and more, when you have a chronic illness, negative thoughts can start to creep in as well. Does the holiday season bring on more overwhelm, depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, or other unpleasant thoughts since you’ve become chronically ill? Maybe this is your first year of …

The Benefits and Logistics of Starting a Disability Employee Resource Group

For the 2019 National Disability Employment Awareness Month, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Natasha Walton to discuss disability Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). For those that don’t know, Natasha is the founder of Tech Disability Project.   Last year, Tech Disability Project featured stories from people working with disabilities. When I stumbled across these …

7 Free Employment Resources to Aid with Working with a Chronic Illness

I’m really excited to share these 7 employment resources with you! I don’t know about you, but I felt lost or too exhausted to search for resources that could’ve helped me at work. There were also so many things that I just didn’t know. Especially when it came to what services were available to me. …

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How I Significantly Increased my Energy Levels in 30 Days

I significantly increased my energy levels in 30 days! Did I just say that?! I can hardly believe it myself. I have battled with fatigue as one of my predominant symptoms of FND for nine years. Even when I was in “remission,” I still battled with fatigue every day. It was mostly mild unless I …

My Visit to the National Institutes of Health and What to Expect

I saw Dr. Mark Hallett and his team at The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the department of National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in early 2017. It was there that I was finally diagnosed with functional paroxysmal dystonia instead of “stress/psychosomatic.” Functional paroxysmal dystonia falls under the Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) …